Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 4,156

Sevda

Sevda /sevˈda/

“passionate love”1

Established origin Sevda: root entries for sawdāʾ · How do we know?

Published: Last updated:

Letters / syllables
5 / 2
Formation
Plain noun
Vowel harmony
mixed
Initial
S
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How do you pronounce Sevda?

Sevda

IPA /sevˈda/

The stress usually falls on syllable 2 (marked). In everyday Turkish, stress in surnames varies by speaker and region.

What does the surname Sevda mean?

Sevda means passionate love and is a common female given name. It comes from Arabic sawdāʾ “black bile, melancholy”; its meaning shifted towards “love” under the influence of sevmek “to love”, to which it is unrelated.1

Sevda is also an ordinary word in everyday Turkish.

What is Sevda made of?

Sevda is a single Arabic root: sevda (sevda: passionate love).

Sevda root sevda sevda: passionate love ARABIC sawdāʾ “black bile, melancholy” Sevda sevda root sevda: passionate love sawdāʾ ARABIC “black bile, melancholy”
Sevda: parts and root words
  • sawdāʾ Arabic — black bile, melancholy1

How was the name Sevda formed?

Sevda is the word sevda (“sevda: passionate love”), taken unchanged as a surname.

Shared note · 1934Surnames became compulsory with Surname Law No. 2525 of 21 June 1934.4

Who are some well-known people named Sevda?

  1. Melih Sevda basketball player 1978–

People surnamed Sevda as recorded in Wikidata, ordered by the number of Wikipedia language editions.

Is Sevda also a first name?

Yes. Sevda is given as a first name too, carrying the same sense: “passionate love”.

Sevda as a first name: meaning and statistics — turkiyenames.com →

Which surnames have a meaning similar to Sevda?

Coşan, Evin and Karacan share gloss keywords with Sevda within the same primary category.

Which guides add context to Sevda?

Read the root, formation and register information for Sevda alongside this guide: How to research a Turkish surname and family tree.

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Wikimedia Wiktionary: sevda accessed 9 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: sevda accessed 9 November 2026
  3. 3 Wikimedia Foundation Wikidata: people with this family name accessed 8 November 2026
  4. 4 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Kanunu (Kanun No. 2525) accessed 8 November 2026
  5. 5 turkiyenames.com Türkiye İsimleri (turkiyenames.com) accessed 9 November 2026

Common questions about Sevda

Q1

What does the surname Sevda mean?

Sevda means passionate love and is a common female given name. It comes from Arabic sawdāʾ “black bile, melancholy”; its meaning shifted towards “love” under the influence of sevmek “to love”, to which it is unrelated.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Sevda?

The root word of Sevda is sawdāʾ (Arabic): “black bile, melancholy”.
Q3

How do you pronounce Sevda?

Sev·da, 2 syllables; IPA: /sevˈda/.